CD cover courtesy of Virginia Folklife Progam

Length 4:14 ~ Listen

When Elder Frank Newsome leads his congregation in singing the hymn, "Sweet Beulah Land," he is often overcome with emotion. Newsome is the moderator of the Little David Church in Haysi, Virginia. In this episode of What's in a Song, Newsome explains how for him, singing and redemption walk hand-in-hand.

Frank is a coal miner's son and veteran of the mines himself. He and his congregation of Old Regular Baptists are among the last practitioners of a spirited 400-year-old song tradition called lined out hymnody. Strains of this musical tradition show up in the Old Time music often performed in this region, including that of Frank's good friend, bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley, who grew up in the middle of Old Regular Baptist country.

For more information about Frank Newsome and a CD of his hymns, go to http://www.virginiafolklife.org/recordings/crookedroad.html.

What's in a Song is funded by the R. Harold Burton Foundation and the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.